Alex de Minaur & Arthur Fils agree with Daniil Medvedev amid Rotterdam Open ball row
Alex de Minaur and Arthur Fils have become the latest players to criticise ball quality at the Rotterdam Open, following Daniil Medvedev’s mid-match complaints earlier in the week.
The ATP 500 event in Rotterdam is one of the most high-profile events on the ATP Tour calendar, with an array of legendary champions crowned at the indoor hard-court tournament over the years.
However, this year’s event has now been engulfed in a significant controversy concerning the quality of the Head tennis balls being used during this year’s tournaments.
Among those leading complaints around the Head tennis balls in use was former world No 1 Medvedev, who was seeded fourth at the ATP event this year.
The 2023 Rotterdam Open champion saw his campaign end at the first hurdle on Monday, with the Russian beaten 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-3 by Ugo Humbert in a competitive three-set clash.
However, during the match, world No 11 Medvedev was clearly frustrated by the quality of the tennis balls in use — with the 30-year-old calling the tournament supervisor onto court mid-match to make his frustrations clear.
He said: “The problem is when you touch it with the racket, it does not react the same way on your shots, so how do you want us to play tennis?”
Now, two of Medvedev’s ATP Tour contemporaries have come forward with similar complaints in Rotterdam.
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Action at the event on Tuesday night saw world No 8 and top seed de Minaur take on French star Fils, with the latter continuing his return to action after a lengthy injury break.
De Minaur sealed a 7-6(3), 6-2 victory over Fils, though neither man was happy with the quality of the Head tennis balls during their match.
Speaking to Bolavip, the Australian claimed that he had been struggling both in practice and during the match.
He said: “I have struggled a lot in practice. I have actually been quite frustrated with the balls in practice, which is not like me. I do get what Daniil says about the balls.
“They are definitely not my favourite. I don’t think they are anyone’s favourite balls. They are very difficult to control.
“It is tough to explain it, but it is a very dead ball. It does suit the big hitters, the players that have a big revolution on the ball and are able to hit through that.
“But again, it is what it is. The ball or the court is not going to change, and my job is to adapt and do my best and continue doing that.”
Fils was more damning in his verdict, claiming that whoever was responsible needed to “do better” in the future.
“They are terrible. Really terrible. The ball is very bad. It is unbelievable,” said the world No 42.
“When we are playing at this level, literally playing professionally, very good players, then watching the balls after two games getting bigger and very slow, that is not normal.
“I don’t know who is in charge of it, maybe ATP or whatever, but they have to do better, because it is not normal to play with these balls at our level.”
World No 8 de Minaur is the top seed at the event in the absence of defending champion Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev, who both withdrew in the days prior to the tournament.
The Australian finished as the Rotterdam runner-up to Jannik Sinner in 2024 and then Alcaraz in 2025, and will be eyeing up his first title at the tournament this year.
De Minaur will continue his campaign on Thursday against wildcard Stan Wawrinka, with the three-time Grand Slam champion having beaten lucky loser Thijs Boogaard in his opening match on Wednesday.
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